War Front on Spike Hills 5

131)
N: A clean, early winter morning in Shinjuku.
N: Casually heading into this building in front of us,
N: This strange old lady and I...
N: Just now--

#5 From the Hanging Pedestal [2]

132)
N: did we step over a line that should never be crossed?

#5
From the Hanging Pedestal [2]

133)
G: Here, hurry up and follow me!
N: .....um,
N: Doing this kind of thing...I really, um...
G: ...kukuku...
G: Kuh kuh kuh...
G: HYAHYAHYAHYAA!!

134)
G(2b): Haha! I was just kidding.
G: I'm not going to eat you up or anything like that.
G: Did you happen to look at this hotel's sign?
G: "Hotel New Chisato."
G: Chisato's my name.
Matchbook: HOTEL NEW CHISATO
G: This is my house.

135)
G: The rooms on floors 1 to 4 are used for the love hotel.
G: But the top floor, #5, is my home.
N: Hyaaah, it's freezing in here!
G: Hold on, I'll turn on the stove.

136)
G: Hey, Nobuo-kun.
G(2b): You aren't the first one, you know.
G(2b): ...I won't say anything bad, so just stop it.
G: That hand of yours will follow you.
G: ....hey.
G: You were thinking now, weren't you?

137)
G: Whether it'd be better to acknowledge your wrongs, and promise to me that you'd never to it again,
G: or whether it'd be better just to pretend like nothing's wrong until the end?
N: ...she hit the nail right on the head.
N: But weren't you also picking pockets yourself, grandma?
N: What if I happened to mention that to the police?
G: My, my.
G: YOU
G: going to the police?

138)
N: Wha...
N: ...t?!
G(2b): What I'm saying is, it's dangerous for you to put on airs like that, KID.

139)
G: Especially when there's so many people above you in this world.
G(2b): An ability like that before someone like me is no different than child's play,
G: Nomura Nobuo.
N: ...it's over.

140)
N: ....I
N(2b): realized I had this ability in the winter of 8th grade.
N: Because of my dropping grades in cram school, both my allowance and bankbook were taken away.
N: Whether it was to go to the arcade or just to buy a can of coffee...basically, I didn't even need a reason.
N(2b): I was being supervised, and all that was left for me in life was to fulfill my daily workload.
N: ...I wanna go to the arcade...
N: ...not like I can, though, since I have no money.
N: If only I had some cash...
N: Who'd put their wallet in a place like that...

141)
N: That's dangerous...
N: If there was a pickpocket around, he'd be able to snatch that so easily.
N: Wah!
N: ...and then, suddenly--
N: I felt an anger so fierce it made my body shake.
N(2b): Now that I think about it, it wasn't toward that man, but was probably anger toward all the outrageous pressure twisting around me.

142)
N(2b): --In the next instant, my hand moved by itself.

143)
N(2b): ...and the next thing I knew, my world was completely changed.
N: I felt as if I had been freed from everything that plagued me.
N: "If you get in the top ten at your cram school, I'll return your bankbook."
N: I don't need anything like that anymore.
N: Now I can get ahold of all the money I need.
N: "Understand? This company is a competitive one."
N: "If you don't work harder than those around you, you'll be grouped in with the losers."
N: That has nothing to do with me anymore.
N: Because I'm different from you all!

144)
N: I can get ahold of everything I want.
N: I'm a special human being!
N(2b): --The truth is, that ability never betrayed me.
N(2b): If I so desired, my right hand could grab ahold of it. If I had saved my money, I probably could have bought several Mercedes.
N: ...and then before I knew it, I had devoted all of my confidence to that ability.
N: --and yet,
N: I'm still more inferior than even this old woman...
N: How could it be...
N: Has my power always been like this?

145)
G(2b): Here's my advice. When you're young like this, it's necessary to cross dangerous bridges by choice.
N: ...I know that.
G: But stuff like this--
G: Just save it until you've become an old bag like me.
N: Just gimme a break...

146)
G(2b): --well, anyway.
G: I'll acknowledge your skill,
G: so stop scrambling around for pennis like this.
G: The point is, if you're gonna do it anyway, you might as well wait until you've got a big chance.
G: That's how I got my hands on this hotel.
G(2b): Horse racing. I scored 25,000,000 yen betting on a single horse.

147)
G: But that story's decades old by now.
G(2b): Of course it was impossible to pay off everything with just that, so I borrowed the rest.
G: Thanks to that, I can live out my old age in relaxation.
G: It's a better feeling than what you get from pickpocketing.
G: And I have these secret pleasures to indulge in as well.
speaker sfx: ...yeah
sfx: Mmmm...
sfx: Ahhh...mm...

148)
sfx(2b): Ah! Ahhh....AHHHHHH!!
N(2b): What...is this...
sfx(2b): Ahhhh...mmm..
sfx: Mmmm
G: Hahaha! Aren't these hidden speakers entertaining?
G(2b): Incidentally, this happening right below us, in Room 402.
sfx(2b): Yeah....ahh...mm..
sfx: That won't fit...mmm
N: "That" won't...?
sfx(2b): Haah...haah...

149)
G: What a greenhorn you are~!
G(2b): You may be an expert at pickpocketing, but it seems like you still don't have any experience in this area, huh?
N: ....huh?
G(2b): Shall I introduce it to you? We've got all types here in this neighborhood.
N: ...no...I, uh, I'm not really...
G: ...or shall I just give you an introductory course myself?

150)
G: Hahaha, sorry about that. Looks like I got you a little more fired up than I intended.
G(2b): Your reactions are just so funny, I've got into the habit of playing jokes on you.
G(2b): Here, have a drink.
G(2b): It's nothing to be afraid of. Just a little cold medicine.

151)
G: I imagine you've felt dizzy all morning, huh...
G(2b): Why didn't you sleep at home? Do you even have a reason that kept you from going there?
G(2b): --well, go ahead and rest all you want there.
G: I need to head downstairs to help out in a little bit anyway, so don't hold back.
G: Once you wake up, you can just go ahead and leave.

152)
N: ...it was probably just because of my fever.
N: But for some reason, in front of this strange old woman,
N: I fell into a deep sleep as if I had died.
sfx: What the hell?
sfx: Hey, you--
sfx: PACHIN

153)
G: ...to be honest, your power is really something.
G: But.
G(2b): No matter how great it may be, you always need to be careful when you use it.
G: It's all about the chances you get in life.
G: They aren't things that just keep on coming.

154)
G: It's imperative not to let those chances pass by you.
G: Got it?
N: "Let's work together, Nomura."

#5 From the Hanging Pedestal [2]-END-